Posts Tagged ‘e63s’

Before we start, I need to apologize for being late. Partly due to real life getting in the way, but mostly due to the fact that I struggled to write this. My theme for this article was going to be “Growing up and growing old”. I was going to walk you through Benyl’s completely normal car history, where he threw whatever cheap mods he could to make his car stand out, regardless of whether or not they made the car any better. We were going to bring back memories of him crashing at the track (or on the streets) by driving like an idiot. We’d transition into his actual adulthood, where he owns a sensible home and drives a sensible wagon.

Problem is, none of those things are true. Benyl was born a 50 year old man and his cars have gotten consistently more powerful from the factory as time goes on. He didn’t really mod his cars until a money shift destroyed his STI’s engine and he was going to have to pay for a new one anyway. Even then, he built it right the first time.

Where to begin? In late 2012 I started looking for a replacement for my C63. We purchased the C63 before having a child and had run into space issues on numerous occasions. This included a lack of space in the trunk, or a lack of room for passengers in the back seat due to the car seat configuration. It was doable, just not ideal. A minivan or an SUV would be a logical choice for a family, but neither are sporty in any sense of the word.

I have always had a soft spot for wagons. A C63 wagon would be the ultimate car, but alas, neither MB Canada nor MB USA bring the car to North America.

So back to late 2012. I was in Lonestar and they had a pre-facelift E63 wagon in the showroom. It was a colour that I liked and had the performance package (550 hp). I was very tempted to get it as it was in stock and my itch for a new car was needing a scratch. However, I had heard that the W212 was due for a refresh that the schedule for it had been moved up a year. The first year of the refresh is usually the best model to buy. Manufacturers have usually worked out all the bugs, you get a “fresh” face and bum that will last a few years before the next model comes out. I had also read rumours that the refreshed E class AMG was going AWD. For Calgary winters, AWD makes the experience that much better. I had a 2005 Subaru STi and missed the off the line performance.

When I first laid eyes on the 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 S-Model AMG Wagon in New York, I knew AMG had a winner on their hands. Now, after spending some time with it on the track I can confirm my initial reaction. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the ultimate sleeper. The competition is over. As a big fan of Mercedes-Benz and AMG cars, you might think that I’m being biased. I’m not. This vehicle is that good, and presented in station wagon form, is so subtle on the outside that if not for the red brake calipers (orange when fitted with carbon brakes), you would have no idea what the car is capable of. The only thing missing to make it more discrete are wood side paneling.

How good is the E63S Wagon? Mercedes-Benz AMG brought one out to the Optima Invitational in Las Vegas as a camera car on Saturday, and on an exhibition run, set the fastest lap time of the day. The cars competing were serious machines from SEMA, as Optima Batteries handpicked these cars to compete at the event. But let’s rewind back a week, where I had a chance to sample the E63S Wagon as well as the Sedan for a back to back comparison.